The Siena Heights University men's volleyball team lost to Mid-America Men's Volleyball Intercollegiate Conference East Division foe Robert Morris (Ill.) 18-25, 25-23, 19-25, 16-25 on Saturday.

The Saints (0-2, 0-2 MAMVIC East) came into the weekend shorthanded due to injuries, and it showed in the four-set loss. With a rotation of only seven players, Siena Heights struggled in the first set coming off a match Friday night with an early turnaround Saturday.

Siena Heights went down early, 6-4 before going on a 5-0 run to take a 9-6 lead early in the first set and extending that lead to 11-8. The Eagles came back and tied it at 13 with a big service ace that swung the momentum in their favor. Robert Morris never relinquished the lead after that tie and went on an 8-2 run to win the first set, 25-18.

"The turnaround was tough, because of the limited number of players right now with some injuries and other various issues," said Siena Heights coach Mike Watkins. "That small number of players playing (Friday) night and again early (Saturday), it's hard on their bodies. They played well. We just made too many errors."

The Saints fought hard in the second set to stay within a few points of the Eagles, taking an early 4-2 lead, before giving it back on a block by Robert Morris to make it 4-4. The Saints were down 18-15 and fought back to take a 19-18 lead with two solid plays by Lucas Sagaert, a block followed by a kill. The set went back and forth to finish, as the Siena Heights went on to win 25-23.

In the third set, the Saints jumped out to a 7-5 lead before the Eagles went on a 6-2 run to take an 11-9 lead. Robert Morris later went on a 9-4 run to make it 20-13. The Saints got six points back, but gave up five to lose the third set 25-19.

"As we got tired, our errors started piling up," explained Watkins. "But we played better as the match went along. It's too bad we started the season the way we did, but that's how it goes sometimes. We'll come to play on Tuesday (against Thiel), and we'll be fine."

The Saints were not able to make it through the Eagles defense, as they had 17 points with blocks. The Eagles limited Siena Heights to just 16 points in the fourth set, taking a commanding 12-5 lead and expanded it to 20-10. Robert Morris went on to win 25-16 and grab its first victory of the season.

Siena Heights hit .060 with 32 errors in the match, while Robert Morris hit .257 with only 15 errors.